What takes a strong heart and makes

pinpricks like blade licks

Small incisions, like decisions

to snip a part of you away

I take your hand to place

on my chest, take a second

to breathe

Take a minute to feel strength

feel the pulse of my own ache

My old wound held together

moment to moment

by hand shakes, by embrace

Feel the release when you realize

That’s all it takes

Human connection like rose inspection

Is a trust game

You must prove you can remain

Stable and soft

even in heat and exhaust–

You cannot faint!

You can't feint either

Every time your heart’s cut

you must train

at least at the start

To lead with your brain

not as they say, with your heart

A strong heart

is cut apart

and eaten

A weak brain

is picked over

again and again

Lead with your mind

like your life depends on it

Hold your heart dear like death

is nothing to fear

It’s inevitable.

A strong heart can break

a thousand times

but a strong mind

not even once

Photo by Zac Durant on Unsplash

#poetry #philosophy #life #mind #love

You might’ve heard two words

about a titan

unburdened

who stood tall as Man should

Maybe you read of a hero who rose

to the challenge, not to the chalice,

who refused any and all claims

to her blood

How are we women, not set ablaze?

The only good philosopher

in 2400 years

and we don’t dare whisper her name?

for fear of sounding too masculine

too capitalist too…what?

Selfish?

Who taught us that was wrong anyway.

She gave us plain language

for self-love when

every man before her

gave us metaphors

and mind games

In metaphysics, I learned

all the tropes and templates

and never once found out

what reality was made of

And then Rand said,

Let us use mind

because existence is

regardless if I,

or anybody realizes it

She said existence exists

and we are conscious of it

As a species, We are the most

remarkable on our planet

As individuals, We are the only

divinity we know

To hear that shouldn’t hurt our ego

Yet we’re so used to taking

our own name in vain.

She said life is the good

and virtue is the means

by which we maintain it

She said Happiness is

value

time

She proved! free will is a given: As in,

Make up your own damn mind!

Determinism only

waltzes in, hand in hand

with coercion: As in,

a bible or baton

She said survival requires reason

We trade our ideas, our labor, and our time

For all who would pull the wool over our pride

She showed us how to flip the script

flip the bird, flip the table

We were taught to grovel

She showed us how to shrug

#Philosophy #Life #Poetry #Canadianpoet

Photo by Siddhant Kumar on Unsplash

i. Thou shall not kill.

ii. Thou shall not rape.

iii. Thou shall not steal.

(We could leave it at that, but just in case)

iv. Thou shall not hold a belief above the life of a human being.

v. Thou shan’t spew hate through fridge magnets, billboards,

or bumper stickers but if thou do thusly,

expect bird shit.

vi. Adultery sucks, try talking first.

vii. Thou shall agree that ye know not what the fuck happens after death.

viii. Thou shall return to the garden,

not as babes unto their mother’s bed,

but as man unto machine.

ix. Thou shall gorge on the fruit of knowledge

x. and ne’er be sorry.

Photo by Laura Seaman on Unsplash

#Poetry #Religion #Christianity #Philosophy

If the pen is to be mightier,

then my word needs to be heavier

I must lift my voice to the sky

Every time tyranny tries

tearing into us

we grow

The pen may be mighty, but peace is slow

The sword swings doors closed

So we break walls

We relay the call

not by little tin cans

but by cables spanning oceans

We don't buy news, we pay attention

We don't fight the weak for their pen

The sword swings swiftly

bleeds our constitution

till we risk running out of ink

Freedom is never said and done

Peace is declared yet the sword swings on

Check out the making of this poem on my medium account:

https://kassandra-dick.medium.com/putting-poetry-into-practice-1121ee3e540f

Photo by Octavian Dan on Unsplash

#philosophy #politics #poetry #ethics #tyranny

Say evasion could convict you,

could you speak with conviction?

State your specifics

Adhere with precision

Scrape the jargon off your tongue

Be honest, just once

Just say, humans are impotent, worth only

what they can give to God

or Give us the benefit of the doubt for once

...We've risen our own daily bread thus far

If you believe otherwise, stop disguising

how you despise your own species

I don't know, how do you define Christianity?

Take all the time you need

Nail yourself to the cross

or, say outright: This is wrong

education is the natural state of a mind

not religion

Our birthright is free, volitional action

Non-taxable—No worship required

Be forthright just once, and be forgiven

For once, wash Yourself of sin

Photo by Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash

#Christianity #Philosophy #Religion #Humanity #Life #Poetry #Poets

The tone is

harmless

like

warblers

nesting

warm

inviting

Come in

out of the cold

if you only fold

into us, we'll all

be warmer if you

only give us more

of your feathers

Wait don't go

don't be alone

Let go of self

preservation

Best is yet to come

so grab this gun

Just point it

away from

us

No, no no

lay your eggs

right here

We look

after

it.

Majority decides

Power to the people

who've been here

the whole time

We know who

history goes to

We know how

how to weave

through stories

like a mongoose

through cobras

We love

an underdog too

or an old man

asleep

at the wheel

Your kids get us

Death is better

than all this

suffering

The bill? What

purge? No, no,

The kids'll get it

We'll tell 'em

be like Jesus

be quiet. No

We can't turn

the heat on

be like Jesus

conserve energy

but come curl up

right here

on the screen

and quit your

crying

You're not really

one of us

are you?

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

#SocialMedia #Media #Poetry #Politics #Philosophy

I've felt in a long time

is combined with wisdom

that this ain't a given

There is a fine line

between been there/

done that

I don't have to go back

to depression, that cat can

rest easy, I put enough pressure

on my own chest without risking

my breathing

I don't wanna say I'll never lay low again

I might still today. The happiness tho

is acquired knowledge, accumulated good

The values I keep, the lessons I've understood

Happiness is not a method, it is a result

The method is one moment at a time

Photo by Aron Visuals on Unsplash

#Time #life #Lifelessons #Philosophy #Poetry #Wisdom #Love #Selflove

Lives

like candle flames

What is done "in the Lord's name"

is as evil as it is vain

The good is the deed that leads to survival

over time. Not your pain,

but your decisions determine

you're still alive

If you have pride, if you pray

by the light of your own mind

There is still time to stand for more

than sacrifice

You do not need to suffer

to be good. You were born

You learn, you plan, you grow

You reap what you sow

What comes after?

Only one way to know

Photo by Ali Hajiluyi on Unsplash

#philosophy #religion #life #lifelessons #Objectivism

really means indivisible. Yes

you are made of cells. Yes

some of them are bacterial. No

you are not an ant, bee, or parasite. No

biology is not a problem. We

are awesome

You are sapiens, aren't you?

Your brain is not static, not plastic

not contained in what you used to say

You are what you think, what you drink in

and pour over your every word. Every gesture

occurs under the light of your mind

Divine. Man is live-wired, capable of computing

mass amounts of data. What do we do

about questions/concerns? Ask

Not what you can do for country,

but what you can do for yourself

Find out how to operate infinity

Focus on your own capacity

be the solution you see

Life is a science fair

not a space race

Make progress

not change

Photo by Sangharsh Lohakare on Unsplash

#individualism #philosophy #life #liberty #pursuitofhappiness

Tastes great

when there's blood in your mouth

and you're set ablaze

and friends are egging you on

Hate is like the last bite

of ice cream slit down the side

with a razor blade

We can't say I Hate religion

when compelled to accept a fantasy

We can't say I Hate a philosophy

when our handlers deem it necessary

We can't say I Hate a culture

when we appease violence equally

I would kill for the ones I love

because

they are of value to me. Some

would sell their souls for less

I Hate them.

Hate is not my weapon

it is a defense against death.

I'm not saying Fear

death I'm saying

Educate yourself and then

even in the insurmountable rage

if it so fuels you, make no mistake

You are the One Who Hates

Your legacy remains—

all you choose to destroy

or

what you will create

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

#philosophy #wisdom #hate